Miami’s hemispheric place in tech: Why be next when we can be first?

By Juan Pablo Cappello

Last year a debate was
sparked, raising the important question of Miami’s place in the realm of
technology. Perhaps the best answer reflects our city’s longstanding identity:
the Gateway to the Americas.

In the race to latch onto the industry of the present and
future, silicon is the new black.

Espousing a city’s status as an up-and-coming tech hub, the
oh-so clichéd “next Silicon Valley,” is de
rigueur. From Los Angeles to Atlanta, progressive cities with big ideas and
communities of lean startups are making their respective cases. Miami is no
different, and in the years following the first dot.com boom the moniker
“Silicon Beach” was regularly bandied about.

Then came the dot.com bust, the Web 2.0 revolution and the
rise of social networking, mobile technology and app-building startups. Through
it all, anecdotal success stories emerged from South Florida, but “Silicon
Beach” by-and-large remained a promise unrealized. Miami never defined itself
against the backdrop of these industry developments. We never answered the
question of who we are, and where we fit into a modern tech world.

A year ago, I authored an editorial that appeared in this
space asserting that Miami has a long way to go before it can be considered a
tech hub of any note. Many locals who have made it their career to advance
Miami’s tech standing took me to task, pointing to all the great work done by
groups such as University of Miami’s Launch Pad, Refresh Miami, Incubate Miami
and the Knight Foundation.

My response was a respectful, considerate, “so what?”

Sure, these individuals – many who I work with and consider
friends – are right to point out the positive steps taken by these
organizations. STEM education through local universities has grown, and the
proliferation of startup culture in downtown and midtown expanded, sure. More
organizations, incubators, collaborative environments and conferences have
sprung up, stirring up excitement in the tech community.

But has this resulted in a grander level of tech success?
Where are the Miami offices of Insight, Greylock, Sequoia and other top venture
capital firms? Where is the local investor interest that drives the innovation
needed to reach the next level? If we’re doing such a great job, why hasn’t the
rest of the world sat up and taken notice?

Cities do themselves a disservice when the quest to become
“next” trumps their own natural advantages. In tech, this usually occurs while
trying to ape the unique and monolithic success of Northern California’s
Silicon Valley.

To be clear, there is no “next Silicon Valley.” With a
preponderance of creative talent, business acumen, educational resources,
capital and equity, the Valley is the center of the tech world. Cities
endeavoring to build their reputations and economies around technology should
focus on what makes their cities special — their own identities, their own
unique offerings to the various fields that make up tech.

Consider Boulder, Colo., which has built a reputation as a
clean tech startup capital, or Boston, the home of nanotechnology. Austin,
Tex., with its thriving music scene and the ubiquitous SXSW festival, has
developed a community of creative and design-focused entrepreneurial ventures.

Miami, meanwhile, is not known for any specific
sub-discipline. Our effort to define ourselves has been scattershot. This is
Miami’s problem. But it could also be our salvation.

Miami’s status as the Gateway to the Americas, our
international flavor, is a competitive advantage unique among those cities
jockeying for a place at the tech trough. Latin America, despite a strong push
by Sao Paolo and Santiago, Chile in recent years, has remained very much an
open territory, a “Wild West” of technology.

A push to build inroads to Latin America can only help at
home in the United States, as well. Hispanics make up about 46 million
consumers in this country, and Miami is a cultural capital for many within that
demographic- more than 66% of Miami-Dade’s 2.8 million residents are
Hispanics/Latinos.

And here is our opportunity. Instead of aspiring to be the
next, Miami has the chance to become the first—the first tech gateway for Latin
America, the primary pipeline between entrepreneurial and STEM-focused locales
such as Brazil, Chile and Colombia. We boast a cultural and geographical
advantage that is as plain to see as Miami on a map.

When I look at the Miami tech scene in the last year, I see
unprecedented growth and synchronicity. Last December, the Knight Foundation,
Endeavor Global, FIU and numerous other organizations got on the same page for
InnovateMIA, a weeklong event highlighting Miami’s start-up, tech and creative
scene. The cooperation was incredible, and it remains crucial. For so long,
these fragmented groups had operated independently, doing their own thing. It
was just one week, but InnovateMIA represents the beginning of an ecosystem
that will help establish Miami’s identity.

InnovateMIA was a case study in overlapping efforts,
energies and synergies, and idea exchanges. With each of these groups’
individual events folded into the week, the event became larger than the sum of
its parts. We need more of this.

The first to-do on any successful startup’s checklist is to
outline its mission statement. We should do the same. It is time for Miami to
ditch the “Silicon Beach” dream and focus on becoming the tech Gateway to the
Americas. Why try to be next when you can be first?

Juan Pablo Cappello, co founder of the LAB Miami, Idea.me
and Sauber Energy and a partner in Patagon.com, was named a 2012 “Top 50
Entrepreneur” by Business Leader Magazine.